For over a decade, the Engaging With Vietnam (EWV) conference series has worked to develop cutting-edge knowledge about Vietnam. At our conferences in Melbourne, Hanoi, Honolulu, Thai Nguyen, Oregon, Bac Ninh, Ho Chi Minh City, An Giang, Phan Thiet and Leiden, EWV has crisscrossed the globe to bring together scholars who examine, from multidisciplinary perspectives, the tremendous changes taking place in Vietnam as it develops and integrates into the world.

At the same time that the EWV conferences have focused on Vietnam, they have also always welcomed contributions from scholars who focus on other countries and societies so as to benefit from comparative insights. Given that Vietnam chairs ASEAN in 2020, we feel that this is an opportune moment to emphasize the comparative element that has always been an important component of EWV by expanding the focus for the 12th Engaging With Vietnam conference to cover the theme of “Engaging With Vietnam, ASEAN and Brunei: Mobilities and Identities in an Age of Biocultural Transformation.”

Many of the issues that Vietnam currently faces are shared by its fellow ASEAN partners. At the broadest level, the entire ASEAN region, like much of the rest of the world, is witnessing the ever-increasing mobility of people, goods and ideas at a time when the environment is being ever-more-intensely transformed by humans and climate change. Meanwhile, in the midst of all of these dramatic transformations people are seeking to find ways to ground themselves through their sense of identity and belonging. The concept of the ‘biocultural’ is a way to connect broader environmental questions with the everyday actions and imaginations of citizens in Vietnam and ASEAN.

In this 12th Engaging With Vietnam conference we invite participants to reflect on these conditions and to submit proposals for papers that address any aspect of the conference theme from any disciplinary perspective by focusing on Vietnam, an ASEAN society, or an issue that looks comparatively at Vietnam and another ASEAN society (or societies).

This 12th Engaging With Vietnam conference will be held at the Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD). UBD is an ideal location for this conference as it embodies many aspects of the conference theme. Situated at the heart of ASEAN on the island of Borneo, the University exemplifies the mobility that is central to our contemporary lives as it annually ranks 1st in the QS ratings for outbound and inbound student mobility, and is the only ASEAN university to maintain a campus in another ASEAN country, the UBD-FPT Global Centre in Da Nang. Second, in terms of establishing a sense of identity in a time of change, Brunei has succeeded admirably in maintaining a balance between upholding the values of a distinctly Bruneian sense of identity while simultaneously encouraging its population to adapt to the demands of the 21st-century global age. Similarly commendable are Brunei’s efforts to sustain the rich biodiversity of the Temburong District and the cultural diversity of the various ethnic groups in the country.

Types of Proposals

Deadline for Proposal Submissions: 31 July 2020Notification of Acceptance: On-going until 15 August 2020

The focus of EWV 12 is “Engaging With Vietnam, ASEAN and Brunei: Mobilities and Identities in an Age of Biocultural Transformation”, but proposals for EWV 12 may involve topics from all disciplines in the broadest possible sense. Please visit the Engaging With Vietnam website (http://engagingwithvietnam.org/) to see the programs of our previous EWV conferences.

We welcome various types of proposals. Each individual can submit up to two proposals, and one of which can be for inclusion in a panel/symposium/colloquium that you organize or is organized by others. Your proposals can also be for roundtable discussions, exhibitions, and documentary/film screening that are linked to the overall theme of the conference. You can always email us if you need more instructions or clarifications.

Individual Presentations

Proposal submissions are in English and within 300 words. Proposals for individual presentations can be single-authored or multi-authored.

If accepted, only those who register can have their names listed in the program. This applies to all presentations, single-authored or multi-authored.

The accepted submissions for individual presentations will be grouped into parallel thematic panels by the conference organisers. Each individual presentation, regardless of whether it is presented by one author or multiple authors, is given 20 minutes plus 10 minutes for general discussion and Q&A. Interacting with the audience is highly encouraged.

The organisers will assign a chair for each thematic panel, and in some cases a discussant if necessary.

All proposals are to be submitted online via the official conference websites: www.engagingwithvietnam.org & www.engagingwithvietnamconference.org. Please note the submission link will be available soon.

The conference also accepts proposal submissions in English for a panel/symposium/colloquium session that discusses a related or common theme. This type of session provides panellists with the opportunity to plan ahead how to run the session and to coordinate presentations and discussion in a fruitful manner. It is encouraged that the panellists leave ample time for overall discussion and Q&A. Interacting with the audience is highly encouraged.

Proposals for a panel/symposium/colloquium session are within 500 words, specifying the overall focus, key points and arguments, insights and methodological issues, and how each individual presentation is linked to the whole session. Together with this up to 500-word overall proposal, a up to 300-word proposal for each individual presentation is also required.

Panellists of each panel/symposium/colloquium session usually propose a chair and a discussant at the time of submission. The chair is often the moderator as well. However, if the panellists need the conference to look for a suitable chair or discussant in case their chair or discussant cannot attend the conference, this could be arranged although not guaranteed.

A panel/symposium/colloquium session should be within a 120-minute time frame, and is consisting of no less than 4 related individual presentations. These individual presentations can be single-authored or multi-authored.

If accepted, only those who register can have their names listed in the program. This applies to all presentations, single-authored or multi-authored.

In-depth Roundtable Discussion is a form of academic discussion, which is often interactive, lively and in focus, and is led by a chair. Participants agree on a specific topic to discuss and debate. Each person is given equal right and time to participate, and as such no one should dominate the discussion. This format is facilitated and illustrated by the idea of a circular layout referred to in the term round table.

Proposals for this type of sessions are within 500 words, specifying the overall topic/issue, key points and what to be discussed and debated, and how each member contributes and what each brings to the whole discussion.

The maximum time for a Roundtable Discussion is 120 minutes, and the maximum number of members is 10 for each session. You may request multiple sessions if the number of participants is more than 10 and if the topic under discussion requires extensive engagement. We encourage general conference participants to attend this type of sessions, and therefore Roundtable Discussion members are asked to engage with the audience as much as possible during the session.

Proposals for art exhibitions/installations/workshops can be emailed directly to the conference address engagingwithvietnam[at]gmail.com.

We need a detailed description of the proposed event, who will participate, if artist’s talk is included, and what is required in terms of space, space setting, equipment, sound and lighting.

Movie/Documentary Screening

Proposals for movie/documentary screening can be emailed directly to the conference address engagingwithvietnam[at]gmail.com.

We need a detailed description of the proposed event, including a summary of the movie/documentary, its length, who among the film/documentary making team will participate, any post-screening discussion is included, and what is required in terms of space, space setting, equipment, sound and lighting.

Deadline for Proposal Submissions: 31 July 2020Notification of Acceptance: On-going until 15 August 2020

Registration

The registration fee will include admission to all sessions; 3 lunches, tea and coffee; conference bag and program; and attendance certificate.

The registration fee does not cover transportation to Brunei or housing during the conference.

***We plan fieldtrip/site visit activities as part of the conference during 15-18 October; and there may be extra charges. Information will be available soon.

Grants

The 12th Engaging With Vietnam Conference offers a small number of grants to graduate students who are currently studying at an institution in Southeast Asia. The following grants are available:

Registration Waiver (5 grants)

Accommodation (5 grants)

Deadline for grant applications: 31 July 2020. We will not be able to accept any applications after this date.

***Please note one can only be awarded one type of grant. If you are seeking a grant, please specify to enable the conference to accommodate you better.

The conference cannot guarantee that you will be awarded the grant you are asking for, depending on the availability of grants and the number of applicants for each type.

Publications

Following our publication projects initiated from the previous EWV conferences, we will continue these projects with the 12th EWV conference.

After the conference, full papers will be invited for consideration in the following publication opportunities:

Edited books by international publishers;

Special Issues in the Journal of Vietnamese Studies as part of the Engaging With Vietnam/Journal of Vietnamese Studies Publication Initiative (published by University of California Press).

***More information about publication projects will be available in May, 2020 Please note no publication is guaranteed until all papers have passed peer review and satisfy the requirements of each publication project.

Contacting EWV

Queries and questions can be directed to EWV conference email: engagingwithvietnam[at]gmail.com.

You can also keep up to date with Engaging With Vietnam by following us on social media.